Cloud Atlas by David Mitchell 🔖🔖🔖🔖🔖

I think this is the first book I've rated 5 stars in 8 years. A friend rated it and said it was a chore to read. This was refreshingly not a chore for me.

To quote Tom Hanks: "It is one story about six people who through their choices between cruelty and kindness affect the world for generations to come." And to quote Frobisher, a character from one of the stories, talking about parts in a piece of music yet not coincidentally fitting the book itself, ... "each in its own language of key, scale, and color. In the first set, each solo is interrupted by its successor: in the second, each interruption is recontinued, in order. Revolutionary or gimmicky?"

I see the comet as a symbol of the opportunity each character (and thus each of us?) has to break from the masses and choose a different path; to choose between doing good or following status quo, bravery or cowardice, taking and giving chances, leaving a legacy for future generations or not, and trusting in others or shutting them out. And these are simple examples from a complex book.

This seems to be one of those divisive books that one either loves or hates. I happen to fall on the "love it" side.

Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow by Gabrielle Zevin 🔖🔖

I liked that the characters were well-written and consistent. I did not like that the characters were consistent until the end. Meaning, they acted 12 when they were in their 30s. Then the last chapter suddenly the worst, most pouty, selfish character suddenly grew up and became human?

While the characters were well-written, I did not feel enough connection to them that when one is lost, I didn't feel the depth of loss I was meant to feel. They were indeed one of the only redeeming characters in this novel, but almost too much so.

Finally, the reason for conflict and disconnect was so common it was almost trite. Failure to communicate? Really?